Sage Grouse

Remember prairie chickens? We saw them at the beginning of our Colorado trip. But we closed the trip with something even more spectacular - the Sage Grouse mating grounds.

Here is a Sage Grouse in full come-hither display:


Similar to the prairie chickens, they inflate the air sacs on their neck, which  make low booming sounds. But the grouse being bigger and fluffier, their displays look more impressive:


Let's look at the whole sequence:
















All that posturing is to attract one of these beauties:


They seem so happy together!


The Sage Grouse lek is huge, with more than 50 birds:




One male, two females - dilemma.


Even from the behind, the male looks spectacular.


This is what the male looks like when not puffed up.


Another look at the female:


Why did the grouse cross the road?


As a closer, another look at the booming sequence: